For New Addresses, USPS Will No Longer Deliver Mail to Your Door

The U.S. Postal Service will no longer deliver mail to the door for new addresses, pushing mail recipients to instead cluster their mailboxes in a centralized area.

The new policy marks a sharp shift as the agency continues to find ways to cut costs and follows through on a proposal for which it has long advocated. USPS announced the change in a recent update to its Postal Operations Manual, in which it also made “centralized delivery” its preferred method of dropping off mail. Having letter carriers deliver mail to a cluster of mailboxes rather than to each individual door allows for more efficient routes that can be completed more quickly.

Advocates for the change have said the new policy could save the Postal Service billions of dollars annually as it continues to look for ways to reduce its labor costs. Detractors have argued the shift would unfairly target urban dwellers and reduce the value of mail-based advertising. As of 2013, about one-third of U.S. addresses received to-the-door delivery, most of which were located in large cities. Clustered boxes in neighborhoods force individuals to deal with safety and weather issues, opponents of the change have said.